wreak


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wreak havoc

To cause a lot of problems. Termites have wreaked havoc on the structural integrity of our house, unfortunately.
See also: havoc, wreak

play havoc with (someone or something)

To cause issues or disruptions for someone or something. The road closures have played havoc with rush-hour traffic. This humidity is going to play havoc with my hair.
See also: havoc, play

wreak havoc (with something)

to cause a lot of trouble with something; to ruin or damage something. Your bad attitude will wreak havoc with my project. The rainy weather wreaked havoc with our picnic plans.
See also: havoc, wreak

wreak something (up)on someone or something

to cause damage, havoc, or destruction to someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) The storm wreaked destruction upon the little village. It wreaked much havoc on us.
See also: on, wreak

wreak vengeance (up)on someone or something

Cliché to seek and get revenge on someone by harming someone or something. The gangster wreaked his vengeance by destroying his rival's house. The general wanted to wreak vengeance on the opposing army for their recent successful attack.
See also: on, vengeance, wreak

play havoc

Also, raise or wreak havoc . Disrupt, damage, or destroy something, as in The wind played havoc with her hair, or The fire alarm raised havoc with the children, or The earthquake wrought havoc in the town. The noun havoc was once used as a command for invaders to begin looting and killing, but by the 1800s the term was being used for somewhat less aggressive activities. For a synonym, see play the devil with.
See also: havoc, play

play/wreak ˈhavoc with something

cause damage, destruction or disorder to something: The terrible storms wreaked havoc with electricity supplies, because so many power lines were down.
See also: havoc, play, something, wreak
References in periodicals archive ?
Not wreck (pronounced exactly like reck) but wreak (pronounced like reek) was the verb that eluded our newspaper scribbler.
We must reck the difference between wreak and wreck
Why invade Iraq and let Mugabe wreak far more terror in Zimbabwe?
Viewpoints Why not stop Mugabe rule?
A tragedy occurred in the An Lo valley of Vietnam when teams of ten killers were sent into the jungle to wreak havoc among the Vietcong.
Four Blind Mice
UV rays penetrate skin and wreak havoc on your cells' delicate chemistry--they can even damage your DNA (chemical blueprint for all life).
Fake bake
While Spamfire is not anti-virus software, it is an integral part of a complete defense against the kind of damage virus writers can wreak," said Michael Herrick, Matterform's president.
Spamfire for Windows announced; virtually eliminates email spam from inboxes
It can make chronic problems like diabetes and arthritis pain worse and wreak havoc on emotional wellbeing and close relationships.
Exercise de-stresses
As American Heritage III points out in its Usage Note at wreak, "The past tense and past participle of wreak is wreaked, not wrought, which is an alternative past tense and past participle of work.
All right is all right, but alright ain't
Arnold Schwarzenegger that would make it easier for struggling schools to convert to charter schools could wreak havoc on the Los Angeles Unified School District and cause millions in losses to the district, officials said Tuesday.
ROMER SAYS ARNOLD'S PLAN COULD COST LAUSD MILLIONS
This time, I wanted to wreak a little havoc [panic].
Martians attack! Steven Spielberg's new War of the Worlds will scare you silly
Will a Hubba sex tape scandal spell the end or will the boys add yet another heavy hitter to the already stacked lineup and wreak more performance havoc?
Phat beats
It is 1969, and a cloistered block in west Philadelphia is shaken to its core by long kept secrets, betrayal and lies that wreak terrible damage on two families.
Leaving Cecil Street
It's imperative that individuals start approaching security at the data level - isolating malware before it can wreak havoc on their PCs.
DriveSentry Advises Against Free Microsoft(R) Windows Vista(R) Downloads
However, data leaks continue to wreak havoc in many organsiations.
Blancco Prevents Recovery of Data from Lost and Stolen PCs
Starting an effective dry skin care routine in autumn can sidestep the disasters colder weather can wreak on the skin.
Sidestep Winter Dry Skin with Natural Preventative Skin Care
Once inside, a thief can wreak havoc by bypassing the hardware protecting network cables or the security software of a computer's operating system.
Holocom Networks Announces Name Change for Line of Security Products; New Names Better Reflect Holocom's Expanded IT Network Security Services: Preventing Information Assaults from Insider Threats
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